When a vehicle is along side another vehicle or object there is always the risk that if the vehicle door is opened it may bump the adjacent object or vehicle, thereby causing damage to one or both. It is common to apply edge guards to vehicle doors to reduce the severity of such bumps. However, this does not prevent the bump but merely cushion it so that it is less likely to cause damage. Nonetheless, even with the use of door edge guards, damage to the user's vehicle or to the other vehicle or object can still result. The cost of repairing such damage is significant.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an apparatus and method whereby the vehicle user is warned that his or her door is undesirably close to a nearby vehicle or object. In addition, it is desirable to provide a graduated warning depending upon the likelihood of his or her door contacting the nearby vehicle or object. Still further it is desirable that when impact is imminent, that door movement be inhibited so as to further reduce the likelihood of impact. Other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.